1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting features of a face of a driver of an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
A technology for detecting a feature of a face of a driver of an automotive vehicle has been known hitherto. For example, by detecting a gaze direction of the driver, whether the driver is watching an obstacle in front of the vehicle or not is determined according to the technology. If the driver is not watching the obstacle, a warning can be given to the driver. It is necessary to take a photograph of the driver's face to detect the line of his sight. For this purpose, a camera 101 is positioned underneath a direct front of the driver's face DR11 not to interrupt the sight of the driver, as shown in FIG. 6 attached hereto. Reference is made to JP-A-2006-95008 in this respect. There is a problem, however, in the conventional technology, that the driver's face is not caught by the camera from a direct front of the driver. Moreover, it is difficult to accurately detect features of the face from the photograph.